This should not be news, but it does contain maybe the most accurate description of my parents’ parenting style ever:

“They give him a $100 and send them off to school. ‘Here’s 100 bucks. That should last you four years. Now, go save the family.’” And that’s where their guidance may end. If so-called helicopter parents typically hover above students from more elite and educated families, many first-generation college students have the opposite problem: parents who may as well be watching their children from a space station.

It used to be: “you go to school? But what do you do there?” Now it’s: “You have a job? But what do you do there?” I love it. It’s like going home to a bunch of Martians. Well, I’m the Martian in this scenario, I guess. My family is cool and totally supportive of what I do. Mainly because they can’t offer any alternative suggestions.